


Prompted

by thisfrailheart



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon? Don't Know Her, F/F, F/M, M/M, Marauders, Other, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Sirius Black & James Potter Friendship, and friends, dorlene, going to add tags as i go, not in order and also possibly au sometimes, possibly wolfstar in the future, who am I kidding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-23 21:34:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 17,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20896457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisfrailheart/pseuds/thisfrailheart
Summary: A collection of stories - moments, snippets. About the Marauders and their friends. Inspired by this year's Inktober prompts.





	1. r i n g

**Author's Note:**

> So. Funny thing. Got randomly inspired and thought I'd post these little stories here. Because why not. Nothing's beta-d. No guarantees I'll be able to do a full month. Nothing really mature/explicit planned for now, keeping the rating to be safe, though.  
I don't own anything. Obviously.  
Hope you find a story that you enjoy. :)  
\----  
[James&Sirius]

**one:** r i n g

„It feels heavier now.“

James looked up from his Quidditch magazine. “What does?”

“The ring” Sirius answered and gazed down at the family heirloom in his hand. He’d pulled it off his finger as soon as he'd stepped out of James' floo but there was something that kept him from parting with it entirely. As often as he’d wanted to burn it, break it, bury it… He couldn’t now, for some reason.

“Maybe it’s cursed.” James put the magazine down and walked over to the window where Sirius was standing.

“They sure like their curses”, Sirius mumbled and winced as he touched his ribs. They were still sore, even after a week. “But I think they left the ring alone. They want you to know _exactly_ what you’re doing when you wear it. And all the weight of their noble and ancient house with it. And isn’t that curse enough?” He turned to James, who was now standing next to him and smiled crookedly.

James could see right through that smile, though.

“Give it here,” he said and held out his hand.

Sirius hesitated for a second, then did as asked, dropping the silver ring into James’ palm. 

“What are you going to do with it?” He couldn’t help but ask.

James slid the ring into his front pocket, turned away from the window and went back to his magazine. Flopping down on his bed, he tried to find the right page again.

“Nothing”, he said. “Just helping you carry the weight. Because that’s what family actually does.”

Sirius’ heart had never felt so light. 


	2. m i n d l e s s

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Remus&Lily]

**two:** m i n d l e s s

Remus winced as Lily pressed the gauze to the gash on his forehead. She sighed, pointing her wand and speaking the incantation to knit the skin back together.

“Why, Remus? This is too dangerous, you know it is! Just…_why_?”

Remus looked away, jaw set. He didn’t want to talk about it, simply needed someone to tend to his wounds because he couldn’t see them all.

“Alright, fine. Don’t talk to me about it”, Lily said. She pulled back and began clearing away the first aid supplies. “But you need to let the others know. Or Sirius, at least. For days, _weeks_, we don’t know where you are, what you’re doing and then you come back looking like this? We’re worried, Remus.”

Remus swallowed, unsure what to say. His directions from Dumbledore had been clear. _You cannot let anyone know._

“I can’t- I’m not supposed- I’m sorry.“

“Of _course_. Dumbledore’s orders, I’m guessing?” Lily didn’t have to wait for Remus’ answer, she could tell by his expression alone. “I hate that old man sometimes, I really do. He’s so- argh!”

“Don’t get upset, Lily, please” Remus begged as his friend got up, angry and shaking.

“But I am! I am upset! We need you here! Especially now! And he’s putting you in danger!”

Remus looked at one of his best friends, cocking his head. There was something about the way she held herself. And the way she argued tonight. It seemed different but he didn’t know why. Then her hand came to rest on her stomach. It was a simple gesture, unconscious, but Remus’ heart almost stopped.

“Lily?” There was panic in his voice.

She hesitated at first, then nodded. Tears were welling up in her eyes. “You’re the first to know. After James, I mean. He wants to tell Sirius tonight.”

Remus got up and pulled Lily into a tight hug.

“I’m scared, Remus. I’m so scared.”

Holding a shivering Lily to his chest, Remus made a promise. Consequences mattered more now. Mindlessly following orders was a thing of the past.

“I’m here. Not going anywhere. It'll be fine.”

But sometimes, promises just weren't enough.


	3. b a i t

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Remus&Peter&Sirius]

**three:** b a i t

Sirius sprinted through the corridors, heading directly to the Hospital Wing. He had to see him. Talk to him. Explain. He’d spent the night in McGonagall’s office, being lectured and losing oh so many house points but he still had to see him. Sliding to a stop in front of the big double doors, he was met with Peter’s angry face.

“No.”

“Pete, just let me-“ He tried to step around him.

“No.”

The answer was barely a word. A growl was more like it. Sirius was taken aback. He’d never seen his friend so angry before. He’d crossed his arms in front of his chest and was downright seething. Glaring at him, lips pressed together into a tight line.

“Sorry, Pete, but I have to-“

“You have to turn around and leave, that’s what you have to do. We don’t want you here right now.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you want, Pete-“

“Oh, I _know_. You only give a fuck about what _you_ want, right?” Peter gritted his teeth and pulled his wand. “We saw that last night.”

That one hurt, Sirius thought. He’d never meant for that to happen! Why didn’t anyone understand that? 

“I really don’t have time for this, Peter” Sirius said and slipped past his friend by pretending to grab his own wand, which made Peter falter in his resolve, giving him a second to rush past.

“Sirius! Sirius!” Peter hissed behind him as he pushed open the doors and walked past the unoccupied beds in search of Remus.

Remus, who’d heard the doors open and Peter’s attempts to stop Sirius, opened his eyes to the bright light of the morning. Wincing, he tried to sit up a little.

“Sorry, Moony. He didn’t want to listen”, Peter apologized.

Remus smiled at Peter, who stepped back with a nod, but his expression grew sour as his eyes fell on Sirius next to his bed. “I don’t want to see you.” He turned away.

“But I need to-“

“I don’t care.”

“Please, listen-“

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“But please, Moony-“

Remus turned back to look at him, tears in his eyes. “You used me. Why should I care about anything you have to say or do or need?”

“I didn’t- It’s not- It wasn’t-“ Sirius stammered. He’d been unprepared for this, he realized. Remus barely ever cried anymore. Not since his transformations had gotten better and the relationship with his parents had evened out. But now he was crying and Sirius didn’t know what to do.

“Bait, Sirius. You used me as _bait_. Used me to lure Snape. Dangled me in front of his face like a worm when you should've kept your mouth shut. Why? You know he’s smart and you also know that he was already _so_ close to figuring it out and you threw me to the wolves anyway. Except-“ A cruel laugh tried to escape Remus’ throat but it turned into a sob on his tongue.

“Except that it would have been the other way around if James hadn’t gotten there as fast as he did. I would’ve torn-“ Remus took a deep breath, trying to regain control over his shaking body and the tears running down his face.

“But you _didn’t_! And I never _meant_ to-“ Sirius gasped. His chest was getting tighter and tighter and he was slowly beginning to understand the gravity of the situation.

“You made me the bait _and_ the monster, Sirius.” Remus’ pained whisper was like a punch to the gut. Sirius felt sick.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, M-“

“Please just... Go.” Remus turned away from him again.

“Remus, please! I’m sorry! Please!” Sinking to his knees, Sirius began crying as well.

Peter rushed over and pulled Sirius up and toward the doors. “That’s quite enough.”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I promise! Please!”

Eventually, Peter had to Silencio Sirius because he wouldn’t stop crying and yelling and screaming for Remus. Pleading, begging, struggling against Peter and then- silence. And it would stay that way for a long while.

Even after the charm had already been lifted. 


	4. f r e e z e

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Marlene/Dorcas]

**four:** f r e e z e

Marlene had been up here since the game ended. She’d seen the others leave but hadn’t been able to move. Lily had turned around for a second to check what was taking her so long. She’d gestured for them to go on, telling her she’d be right there. And still, she hadn’t been able to move. So she’d watched the stands empty.

First, there had been the loud crowds, celebrating the win or cursing the loss. Then had come the friend groups and people who were taking their time to join the party. Lastly, stragglers and teachers.

Above her, the sky had gone from red to purple to dark blue. McGonagall had simply given her a look and then left. _It scares me how much she knows sometimes,_ Marlene thought.

She liked losing herself in the crowd. Loved the way the noise helped drown out her own thoughts. But earlier, when Gryffindor caught the snitch and the stands erupted into cheers, it had felt like explosions going off in her head. Too loud, too bright, too hectic. _Too much._ Digging her nails into the wood of the bench she was sitting on, she’d tried to hold on. Keep breathing. 

And then she’d simply stayed, letting the cold night air numb her. _Just a little bit._ Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. There was something calming about the icy air burning its way into her lungs. She reveled in how alive it made her feel.

Suddenly, someone sat down next to her. Blinking against the brightness of the stadium lights, she realized it was Dorcas.

“What are you doing here? You should be with the others, trashing the common room, getting drunk off Firewhiskey!” Marlene gasped. Then her lips stretched into a grin. “They never could’ve won without you scoring that many points. Go! Celebrate!”

But Dorcas didn’t look like she was planning to run off. Instead, she slid a few inches closer. They were shoulder to shoulder now. Then, Dorcas took off her robe and wrapped it around Marlene.

“You need to keep warm or you’ll freeze up here.”

As Dorcas was putting the robe around her shoulders, Marlene thought how much this felt like an embrace. Almost, anyway. She turned her head to look at Dorcas and realized how close they were. She could feel the warmth radiating off Dorcas. Could see the little flecks of sunshine yellow in her hazel eyes. Smell her shampoo. _I’d like to kiss you._

Marlene’s breath hitched as the thought was sinking in. Dorcas’ eyes widened just the tiniest bit and then she smiled, leaning forward.

“I know the feeling”, she whispered against Marlene’s lips.

Before Marlene could fully comprehend that she’d said those words out loud, Dorcas was kissing her. And her lips were warm and soft and her arm was actually hugging her close now and Marlene’s heart started tumbling in her chest. As she held on to Dorcas, breathless and lips tingling, she wondered why she’d ever sought out the cold to make her feel alive when heat could do it twice as well.


	5. b u i l d

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Marauders] [Sirius/Remus]

**five:** b u i l d

„You’re going to what?“

„Build it,” Sirius repeated proudly.

The Marauders were standing on the street in front of the building Sirius had recently moved into, staring at a relatively dilapidated motorbike.

“But it’s already…built? And it doesn’t look that good,” Peter wondered.

“Yes, but-“

“Does it even work?” James asked, kneeling down and inspecting the bike with a skeptical expression.

Sirius sighed. He’d expected a bit more enthusiasm. Especially from James, who was usually so adventurous. Merlin’s beard, times really had changed.

“Will you two let me talk?”

Peter shrugged, rolling his eyes and James lifted his hands in defeat as he got back up. “Sure.”

“Thank you. So the guy who sold it to me told me exactly what I need to build it. Or re-build it, I should say. To fix it, you know? Gave me a list with parts I’ll need. Even phone numbers of specific shops so I can buy the exact right things!” He pulled a yellowed page out of the pocket of his leather jacket and waved it triumphantly.

“You don’t even have a phone!” Peter grinned.

“And I still think you got ripped off. Sorry, Pads,” said James but he did have the decency to look apologetic, at least.

Sirius laughed. “Fine. Don’t believe me. Just watch. You’ll see, I’ll make it happen.” He shrugged, then put his arm around Remus’ shoulders, leaning in close.

“You haven’t said anything yet, Moons. What do you think? Do _you_ believe in me?”

“Well,” Remus answered and wound his arm around Sirius’ waist, “You have no idea how Muggle things work, least of all motorcycles, so excuse me when I say that I’m not super hopeful at the moment-”

“Oh, come on! My own boyfriend? Betrays me like this?” Sirius exclaimed and tried to pull away but Remus hugged him closer.

“There’s a ‘but’! _Let me finish_,” he said when Sirius huffed, “_But_ you look excited and happy and that makes me excited and happy. And who knows, one day you might even make it fly.”


	6. h u s k y

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beware: au-type, "everybody lives and the evil doesn't exist" story ahead  
\----  
[James/Lily] [Sirius/Remus]

**six**: h u s k y

„Pafoo!“ giggled the little boy in Remus’ lap, slapping his tiny hands on the pages of the children’s book that his uncle was reading to him.

Remus laughed. “You’re right, Harry, that’s a dog. But Padfoot is not a Husky. He _wishes_.”

“Pafoo!” Harry squeaked. His saliva-wet fingers were sliding across the page. It almost looked like he was trying to grab the little drawing of the dog in the book.

“Is that my name I hear? And is that my favorite godson I see?” Sirius grinned as he walked into the living room, closely followed by Lily.

“He’s your _only_ godson,” Lily said with an eye roll.

“For now.”

Sirius bent down to kiss Harry’s forehead, carefully dodging the boy's hands. They didn't look like it, but the small fingers could really do some damage if they got a hold of his hair. Then he leant over Harry to press a kiss to Remus’ lips.

“Haha. Ha. Ha. Absolutely not, Black.” Lily’s glare was murderous. It softened when she turned to her other friend, though. “How was he, Remus?”

Remus smiled, ruffling the small boy’s hair with one hand. “We’re doing just fine, right, Harry?”

Right on cue, Harry began giggling again. “Pafoo! Pafoo!”

Sirius sat down on the sofa next to Remus, helping Harry climb over and sit between them.

“How about you? Did you manage to hang the frame?” Remus asked, holding the book out for Sirius to take.

“Yes! Thanks for the help, guys. Can you believe it took almost three years to put up our wedding pictures?” Lily sighed.

“Don’t worry. You’ve got two small children, nobody’s going to blame you,” Sirius joked with a huge grin while thumbing through the book with Harry.

“Oh, very funny, Sirius,” Lily said but couldn’t help but snicker. “Actually…could you do me a favor and watch Harry for a little longer? James will be back tomorrow evening so it can wait if you don’t have time but-“

“Of course, Lily. Do you need help with anything?” Remus agreed immediately.

He loved spending time with Harry and Sirius would have to be coaxed away from his godson anyway. It would be easier to simply spend a bit more time than to try and part them now.

Lily relaxed visibly. “Really? Thank you! I just need half an hour to do some laundry and get dinner started! Thank you!”

Remus tried to offer his help again but she was already rushing out of the room, so he turned back to his favorite guys.

Forty-six minutes later, Lily came back, apologizing profusely for making them wait. But nobody was listening. All three of them were cuddling on the sofa, taking a nap. Remus was holding Sirius and Sirius was holding Harry. Lily smiled to herself.

“Maybe you two should give _me_ a godchild.”


	7. e n c h a n t e d

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sadness ahead. alcohol mention.  
\----  
[Sirius&James] [Sirius&Regulus, mentioned in passing]

**seven:** e n c h a n t e d

He hadn’t looked at it in years. He’d forgotten it existed, even. But then he had to return to the hell hole that was his birth parents’ house and he found it on the dresser in Regulus’ room.

After interrogating Kreacher, he’d found out that the elf had thought it belonged to Reg and that he’d stolen it and therefore returned it to his brother’s room. He’d wanted to scream at the tiny creature. Yell at him and throw things. _Because it’s mine! It’s mine! How dare you! _But he was too tired and too cold and too sober for this so he simply stood there and waited until the house-elf left of his own accord.

Hearing the door click shut, he took a deep breath and lifted his hand. The glass showed his reflection. He tried to remember what he looked like, once upon a time, when he first tried it out. But he could see the darkness in his eyes and didn’t want to think about it anymore.

Instead, he began to whisper. Just like he'd always done it. “James?”

No answer.

_Again_. _A little louder_. “James?”

Nothing.

_Please answer._ “James?”

Silence.

His hands began to shake. His throat went dry. _Please. I can’t do this alone. _“James?”

Tears started falling and made his eyes burn. But nothing burned as bright as the pain in his chest. “James? _Please!_ I’m back home. He made me! You said I didn’t have to! James! _Say something! Please!_”

Falling to his knees, clutching the mirror, he continued to beg and plead.

The screams alerted Remus, who thought Sirius was having a nightmare and rushed into the room only to find him on the floor.

“James! James! Please!”

Having to swallow hard against the lump in his throat, Remus knelt down next to Sirius. He pulled him up a little and against himself. Unsure what else to do, he just sat there and held Sirius as he sobbed and screamed.

At some point Sirius was so exhausted from crying that they sank to the floor completely. Lay there on the rug, held each other.

A long while later Sirius spoke. His voice was hoarse. “I can’t help but think how cruel it is that both my brothers had an enchanted mirror in their possession at some point and yet I didn’t get to say goodbye to either of them. Which is the whole purpose of the mirror. What’s so enchanting about that?”

He laughed. It was a cold laugh, full of grief and sorrow and darkness.

He got up, took a swig of Firewhisky from the flask he hid in his coat and didn’t say anything else for the rest of the week.


	8. f r a i l

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Marauders]

**eight:** f r a i l

“Alright, Pete, what the hell’s going on?” James said after closing the door behind all of them.

Peter had been crabby for three days now. He joined them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, sat with them while doing homework and studying but he was clearly not okay. His little harsh quips and huge mood swings made that perfectly clear.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said and continued rummaging in his trunk for something.

“We bloody well know you don’t but this can’t go on. Something’s wrong with you, isn’t there? Just tell us what it is!” Sirius was becoming impatient already. He didn’t like tension. Not in their little group, not at home, nowhere. He wanted this resolved.

“Shut up, Sirius!” yelled Peter.

“You’re so angry!" Sirius was almost shocked. "Is it about me? Did I do something?”

“No, Sirius, for once it’s not about you, okay?” Peter slammed his trunk shut and sat down on his bed, putting his face in his hands.

Remus sat down next to him. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it, Pete. But…we know something’s bothering you and we’re worried.”

Peter shook his head.

“Remus is right, Peter. Plus you’re being kinda mean. And we can take it if that’s what you need at the moment but it’s not going to work like that forever,” James explained.

“It’s the rat thing, alright?” Peter exclaimed.

The boys exchanged some quick glances. Sirius tried to figure it out. “The ‘rat thing’? What ‘rat thing’?”

“Forget it, I don’t want to talk about it.” Peter let himself fall back on his bed.

Suddenly Remus spoke up, realization dawning on his face. “Guys, the full moon’s soon.”

“Oh,” Sirius and James said simultaneously.

“Yes, ‘oh’,” Peter mumbled from his spot on the bed.

“You…you don’t have to be there, Peter. It’s alright. I won’t make you.”

“It’s not about you, Remus! It’s not even about being there! It’s about being there as a bloody rat, for fuck’s sake!” Peter sat up again, grinding his teeth and balling his fists. “Do you know how humiliating it is to transform for the first time after months of preparation and then you realize you’re a rat?”

“Rats are cool, though!” James tried.

“And super smart, too,” Sirius added.

“Easy to say for you guys! _You’re_ socially acceptable animals. People actually _like_ you. Well, maybe not in that one movie - sorry James - but still! You can exist out there and people will ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’. And then there’s me, the fat little rat! And frail, too! Would you like to live with the fear of people stepping on you? Or worse, seeing you, screaming and throwing shoes? Probably not. Did you know there are traps specifically for rats?”

Nobody knew what to say to that so they simply sat in silence for a while.

“Sorry, Peter. I didn’t know you felt that way,” Sirius said eventually. James nodded next to him.

Peter shrugged. “I’m sorry, too. I really wasn’t the nicest person to be around the last few days. And I’ll get used to it, I think. Just not what you’d expect, is it? A _rat_.” He snorted.

“Well, look at it this way, Pete. You’re pretty much safe if you ever have to go into hiding. You’re so tiny! And people do expect them just about anywhere,” James said with a laugh. “Me or Sirius? Not so much. You can spot Prongs from a mile away and Padfoot looks a bit scary sometimes. He’d probably end up in dog prison or something.”

That made Peter laugh. “That is absolutely ridiculous, James. Never going to happen. But thanks for the pep talk.”

Soon they were all doubled over, laughing and coming up with animal puns. Nothing could ever hurt them, they were sure of it. 


	9. s w i n g

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Marlene/Dorcas]

**nine:** s w i n g

When Dorcas looked at her like that, Marlene knew she was about to get into trouble.

“I can’t! I don’t know _how_!”

Dorcas grinned. “I don’t know how, either! That’s why it’s fun, you know?”

Marlene sighed but couldn’t help but smile. Sirius had dragged them all to some underground club in Muggle London to celebrate moving into his new flat. He’d also promised that he wouldn’t make anyone dance. And yet here she was, about to be sweet-talked onto the dancefloor by her girlfriend. Fine, so Sirius had kept his promise but Marlene still wasn’t enjoying the prospect of having to dance.

“You don’t even have to do anything. It’s a slow song. No need to swing your hips or wildly wave your arms around,” Dorcas said with a wink as she slid her arms around Marlene’s waist, pulling her close to whisper in her ear. “Dance with me?”

Her knees actually buckled and Marlene blushed. Sometimes she hated the fact that Dorcas could do those things to her. And then there were other times… “Fuck you, Meadowes! … _Yes_.”

Dorcas chuckled. Then she stepped back, took Marlene’s hand and led her to the dancefloor. There, she hugged her close again, winding her arms around Marlene’s waist once more. Marlene, in turn, slid hers around Dorcas’ neck and held on tight. She felt very uncomfortable out here. Unsafe, in a way. Uneasy. But again, Dorcas was right there to quieten her mind and steady her hands.

“Just close your eyes, love. Close your eyes and listen to the music. I’m here.”

_“Hold on to the end, that's what I intend to do… I'm hopelessly devoted to you…”_

Marlene smiled and closed her eyes. She hadn’t paid attention to the song before. Leave it to Dorcas to pick a good one. Sighing, she relaxed into the embrace, laying her head on Dorcas’ shoulder.

And so they stood there, in the middle of the dance floor, just swaying to the music in some secret club in Muggle London and for some reason, though they weren’t actually dancing, it was absolutely perfect. Even as the song ended and one, two, three fast-paced ones played, they stayed exactly as they were. Simply holding on to each other, enjoying the night.

Because in that moment it belonged to them.


	10. p a t t e r n

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Marauders&Lily&Dorcas&Marlene] [James/Lily]

**ten:** p a t t e r n

It was nearing the end of September but it was still strangely warm. So they’d decided to take their little study session outside today. Grabbing some blankets and their books, they’d walked onto the grounds and found a place near the lake to hang out for a few hours.

With James and Dorcas at Quidditch practice, it was oddly quiet but also very easy to actually get work done, Lily found. Marlene, Remus, and Sirius were working on something for Defence Against The Dark Arts, while she and Peter tried to finish their Transfigurations essays.

_It’s weird just how much I love being around these people, _Lily thought. She’d been so excited when she’d found out that she’d be attending Hogwarts, only to have the experience almost ruined by her sister. Petunia was still miffed about what had happened and refused to talk to her for more than a few minutes but Lily had found a second family here and had promised herself that she’d be just fine, even if Tuney never came around. And she’d been right. Dorcas and Marlene had been by her side for years now and Sirius and friends had turned out to be nicer than what she’d assumed. She smiled to herself.

A sudden shout broke through her reminiscing and she looked up to see James and Dorcas walking towards them. When they’d reached the blankets they were all sitting on, both of them fell to the ground, moaning about their sore muscles.

“Captain really put you to work today, huh?” Marlene said with a laugh, shifting so Dorcas could put her head in her lap.

“Don’t even get me started!” whined James, curling up in the fetal position. “If we keep going like this, we’ll definitely win the cup but at what _cost_?”

“Will you stop complaining, Potter? We all know you love it!” Marlene grinned.

James turned his head towards Lily, who was sitting next to him. “Your friend is being mean to me. Make her stop, Lily.”

Lily rolled her eyes but grinned down at him. He loved drama a little too much, sometimes. “Why would I stop her from telling the truth?” she teased.

James groaned and his friends started laughing.

A little while later, after they’d all given up on studying, they were laying on their blankets in the grass. Talking about everything and nothing at all.

The wind was rustling the leaves of the trees in the Forbidden Forest, carrying them across the grounds. The sky was blue above them with birds flitting across the bright backdrop. And she was lying there, her head on James’ shoulder, listening to her friends’ stories as his fingers were drawing a random pattern on her arm.

_It’s weird just how much I love being around him,_ she thought and closed her eyes with a happy sigh.


	11. s n o w

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Marauders]

**eleven:** s n o w

It was already dark outside when they put the finishing touches on it. They’d worked all weekend this time, taking very few breaks to try and get it done. The castle was cold and they had begun taking turns casting heating charms, as well as sneaking down to the kitchens to get hot chocolate and tea.

Huddled together to stay warm, the four of them sat on Peter’s bed, leaning over the parchment. Years of research and trial and error had gone into it. But many failed attempts later and they were finally ready to see if their hard work had paid off.

Nodding to each other, they pulled their wands, put the tips to the parchment and spoke the words together:

_“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”_

Saying it, unitedly, felt holy, somehow. Like a magical vow. And they were rewarded with a fantastic sight. 

Letters began appearing on the page as if the ink was blooming and bringing the dull yellow to life with words and sentences. Their heads lifted and they stared at each other in amazement.

“I can’t believe it works”, Peter said, shocked. He’d never questioned the idea or their efforts, but their skill level? He hadn’t thought it would be possible.

James grinned at him. “I never doubted us.”

Then, leaning over the map once more, they began exploring it. They’d known what it would do if their plan ever came to fruition but it was new and thrilling all the same.

James excitedly pointed to the dot labeled “Minerva McGonagall”, wondering aloud how they’d surely never be caught by her again. Soon after, they found their own names on the page which actually prompted them to give themselves a round of applause. Laughing, they hugged and high-fived.

Outside their window, the first snow of the season began turning the grounds white. If they’d noticed they probably would have begun planning for tomorrow’s snowball fight. But they didn’t notice. There was other mischief to be managed.


	12. d r a g o n

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Sirius/Remus]

**twelve:** d r a g o n

“So what are you reading, Moons?”

Remus rolled his eyes, chuckling. Sirius had climbed into bed with him less than a minute ago and was already distracting him. “The Hobbit.”

“That’s not the one with the tiny people and the ring and Mount Gloom, right?” Sirius shifted a little, putting his head on Remus’ chest and his arm across his stomach.

“Mount _Doom_. But no. You’re thinking of The Lord of the Rings,” Remus explained.

“Right. So which story’s this?”

“The one with the dragon?” Remus tried. He wasn’t sure whether Sirius would remember. The last time he’d gone off on a tangent about the book, they’d all been in the hospital wing, recovering from a nasty cold after a particularly rough moon.  
Wincing, he lowered his hand to the bed. He’d slung his other arm around Sirius and holding Tolkien with one hand would always prove at least a little painful. Careful to take note of the page he was on, he closed the book and stretched his wrist.

“I like that one,” answered Sirius, hugging Remus even closer.

“You _do_?”

“I like the way he describes the house. The author, I mean. It sounds cozy and warm. Unlike _other_ houses I know.”

Remus wasn’t sure what to say. He obviously knew that Sirius had struggled with his family until the day he’d run away to James’ but he rarely talked about ‘home’. Remus didn’t know how to react. So he went for the most obvious option; pull him closer. Just to let Sirius know that he was listening. Just to let him know that he was here.

After a little while, Remus picked up the book again. But instead of returning to the page he’d been on, he went back to the beginning.

This time, he read out loud. “In a hole in the ground…”

Sirius sighed, closing his eyes when Remus began carding his fingers through his hair as he read to him.

Remus smiled. _You mean comfort to me,_ he thought.


	13. a s h

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another sad one. Bad memories. Take care of yourselves while reading. ((Mentions of explosions, panic, blood, memory loss.))

**thirteen:** a s h

It had felt like it was happening in slow-motion, like centuries of pain and chaos. An eternity. In truth, it had all been over in a couple of minutes.

He closed his eyes. He could still see Peter’s tiny, evil smile before he danced out of reach and pulled his wand. Could recall the way his lips moved and his wand swished and the way his own heart had stopped. He was still able to hear the ground being torn open, still able to feel the shockwave of the explosion. Could hear the screams and shouts ringing in his ears. He could remember the dizziness and that his lungs refused to work for a few seconds. His eyes, too, when he tried to find the other man in the crowd.   
He could still recall his throat closing up as Peter used his wand once more. And how his stomach had turned when he began yelling and pointing at him. Could still see the blood all over Peter’s hand, dripping onto the asphalt. Red, red, _red._ He could remember the panic in his chest when he watched the rat scurry into the sewers, just as Aurors started apparating onto the scene. Could still feel how raw his throat had felt from screaming. And he could recall how those screams had turned into laughter and tears and shaking hands in magical restraints. He was still able to smell the smoke, was still able to feel the debris and ash raining down on him.

But he wasn’t able to remember much else. Not in here.

There was a rattling, hissing sound outside. The air grew colder again. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to remember anything anymore.


	14. o v e r g r o w n

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Marauders&Lily&Dorcas&Marlene] [mentioned: James/Lily and Sirius/Remus and Marlene/Dorcas]

**fourteen:** o v e r g r o w n

Dorcas looked around. Of all the things she’d imagined, this wasn’t it. She walked over to one of the boarded-up windows and tried to see outside through the little gaps between the planks. The garden hadn’t been tended to in ages, if ever and the small path that led from the house toward the village was overgrown with moss and other plants.

The interior doesn’t look much better, she thought. Most of the furniture was damaged in some way. The walls were missing wallpaper in a lot of spots, claw marks hinting at what might have happened. Floorboards were loose, missing or damaged as well.

Dorcas’ throat had gone dry the second she’d stepped foot in the house. It wasn’t the house that bothered her but the memories that seemed to seep out of the cracks in the walls and floor and into her heart. Memories of pain and sorrow and tragedy. Trying to swallow the lump in her throat but failing, she turned away from the window and joined the others again.

“Has it always looked…like this?” Marlene asked. She was clearly a little uncomfortable as well, though less emotionally and more physically because besides being run-down, it really wasn’t the cleanest place either.

Remus sighed. He’d wanted to bring them here but showing this part of himself still always felt like a bad idea. And embarrassing in the worst possible way. He knew what to say but he didn’t actually want to say it. Thankfully, his friends could read him like no other and Sirius jumped in to help.

“Nah. But Moony here is a wild one. Things break, you know. We repair them but cleaning up isn’t really an option.” He shrugged, an easy smile on his lips as he put his arm around Remus’ shoulders.

“You’re such an idiot, Pads,” Remus said. He shook his head, trying to play it off but he knew everyone had witnessed just how tight his voice had sounded.

And he was right. Dorcas stood there, unsure what to say and Marlene, at some point, had grabbed her hand. She looked distraught.

“Oh, come on, guys! We didn’t come here to mope. It’s all good!” James exclaimed, trying to ease the tension. Then he pulled something out of his jacket pocket that looked like miniature bottles.

“James?” Lily asked with a glare. “What. Is. That.”

“I think you know, Lily.” James grinned mischievously. Tapping the bottles with his wand, he restored them to their actual size.

Lily only rolled her eyes, clearly saving that battle for another day.

“I know you can feel it. But don’t listen to the house. Don’t make its memories yours,” Peter suddenly said next to Dorcas. He’d come closer as the others were busying themselves with pouring Firewhisky. She stared at him, caught.

He smiled, pointing at their friends across the room. “It’s not a sad story anymore.”

Dorcas nodded. She watched as he joined the others. A few seconds and a quick glance at her girlfriend later, they did, too.

“Party in the Shrieking Shack!” Sirius yelled and downed his drink before pulling Remus close for a quick kiss. He chuckled. “Only for the brave!”

As her friends began crying laughing over Sirius' ridiculous comment, Dorcas had to agree with Peter. It really wasn't. 


	15. l e g e n d

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw for murder/execution/ghost story type things. only mentioned in passing, but still.  
\----  
[James&Sirius&Peter]

**fifteen:** l e g e n d

„Legend has it that one of the ghosts in the castle was killed by a monster.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Sirius had always had a habit of shocking people by blurting things into the silent moments during conversations but this was on a whole new level. James, seeing Peter’s confused face, decided to take it upon himself to ask.

“Uhm…_what_?” he said.

Sirius shrugged and continued scanning his essay for errors. “Just remembered it. Heard about it at a family dinner once.”

Putting his quill down, James tried to understand what was happening. “Right. And you think it’s true because your family only ever speaks the truth?”  
He grimaced.

“Of course not. Merlin knows they’ve told me enough nonsense. I'd never believe them about _this_.” Sirius rolled his eyes. “But I’m looking over my essay for Binns right now and it made me think about the ghosts. And that’s when I remembered.”  
He shrugged again.

“Oh, alright. So it’s not true, then,” Peter said, clearly relieved.

Sirius looked at him, trying hard to hold back his laughter. “No, Pete. It’s not. Which is why I said ‘legend has it’. If it were true, don’t you think we’d have heard about it by now?”

“Yeah. Probably _from_ the ghost. They can be very talkative. Just look at Nearly Headless Nick! He never stops going on about the blunt edge of that axe,” James joked.

“Ugh. That really wasn’t necessary, James,” Peter moaned, paling. 

“Sorry, Peter. Forgot about your fear of the red stuff.” He smiled apologetically.

“It makes you wonder, though, doesn’t it?” Sirius said, looking contemplative. “How these rumors get started? I wonder if there’s at least some truth to it.”

James chuckled. “Considering we started our own ghost infestation rumor to help out our friend with the furry little problem, don’t you think it’s possible that some mischievous kid simply…made it up?”

The three of them exchanged knowing glances and smiles.

“You’re probably right, Prongs. As we’ve already established, my family’s into some strange stuff. They’ll believe almost anything. Even a weird kid's even weirder story.”

And with a final shrug, they laid the conversation to rest. After all, it was only a ghost story.


	16. w i l d

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [James/Lily]

**sixteen:** w i l d

They said _yes_ at sundown. Surrounded by their closest friends and family, they promised to love and cherish each other forever. As they sealed their promises with a kiss, their loved ones applauded and cheered.

Not long after, they danced their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Potter. They held onto each other, swaying to the tune of their song, too overwhelmed by emotion. Barefoot in the grass of James’ parents’ garden. Only accompanied by the music, the rising moon, and the sparks their guests sent into the heavens with their wands.

Food was praised and enjoyed and eaten amidst laughter and stories and wishes.

They danced long into the night. James twirled Lily around in his arms, as wild and carefree as possible. Giggling and grinning and shrieking with pure joy. Both of them.

Right there under the midnight blue sky, illuminated by the stars above and the fairy lights all around them, there was no darkness to be found anywhere. Even in these times.

And how could there be, as long as there was love in their world?

That night, as they celebrated, their hearts were light and their minds unburdened and those cherished memories, burned into their very being, would continue to carry them forward.


	17. o r n a m e n t

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [James&Sirius]

**seventeen:** o r n a m e n t

„Wake up!“

Sirius turned onto his back groggily but refused to let consciousness take him completely. _Who the hell is yelling?_

“Come on, Pads, wake up!”

_Oh no, it’s James. Stooooop,_ he thought and made a low grumbling sound. He really shouldn’t have had that much food last night. And gone to bed earlier. Especially after already losing too much sleep during the moon a week ago.

“Did you just growl at me? Padfoot, get out of bed right now or I will get in with you!”

“Fine, get in. If that means you’ll let me sleep…” Sirius mumbled and pulled the blanket over his head.

He could hear James’ exasperated sigh. Then: “It’s Christmas Morning, Sirius, and I want to give everyone my presents. Do _not_ make me levitate you downstairs.”

That jolted him awake. He’d forgotten it was Christmas. Opening his eyes and scrambling to sit up, he realized another important thing as he thought back to last night. “I’m not at school.”

“No, you’re at home, you idiot. Now get up!” James was standing next to his bed, arms crossed in front of his chest and looking incredibly unimpressed.

_Home._ Warmth bloomed in Sirius’ chest. He’d always thought he’d never forget the icy cold in his veins at the thought of that word. And then the Potters had come along. Smiling, he practically jumped out of bed. He walked past James with a grin. “Coming?” he asked, as he went out the door.

“You’re kidding, right? You have to be kidding!” James muttered angrily as he caught up to him on the stairs. “It took me way too long to wake you up and then I had to practically threaten you and now you’re asking me whether I’m coming- what _now_?”

James had walked right into the living-room but Sirius had stopped behind him. He looked back. Sirius, from the doorway, was gazing at the tree.

It was still dark outside and the magical lights on the tree were bathing the room in a warm, sunshine-like glow. The baubles and decorations glimmered and shone in-between the branches, casting little halos against the green. And the presents under the tree had been wrapped in red and white and golden paper with opulent bows on top.

_This is what Christmas is actually like._ Sirius’ heart would not stop hammering behind his ribs. He was sure it would break at least one if it kept going like this. Then he suddenly remembered that James had been talking to him. “What?”

James went from annoyed to worried. “Are you alright? You spaced out for a few seconds.”

“I’m fine,” answered Sirius, smiling. “More than.” And he meant it.

He walked over to where James was standing and together they went to inspect the tree – and the presents – further. As they sat down on the floor, something caught Sirius’ eye.

It was a little golden ornament. It looked like a snitch and the tiny wings cradled a magical photo of James as a baby. Smiling, Sirius searched the tree to see if there were any more like it. Realizing there was one just a few branches above, he reached out to turn it a little because it was facing the other way.

He gasped when he saw the picture.

James looked over, confused. Then he saw what Sirius was staring at. “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. It’s not the greatest picture because Mum only has very few photographs of you. And no baby pictures, of course. Which made her really upset because-“

“We have so many of James and now it’s going to look like we’ve got a favorite child. And we do not,” said a kind and soft voice behind them.

Euphemia and Fleamont had come down to join them and witnessed their conversation. Fleamont put his arm around his wife and kissed her cheek.

“That is exactly right!” he agreed with his wife. “And now for the presents. Happy Christmas, boys!”

Sirius let go of the ornament. He was overwhelmed. Didn’t know what to do. Feeling like he was lost in a sea of emotions, he stared at James. “I don’t know what to say,” he whispered, choking back a dry sob.

“You don’t have to say anything,” James answered with a smile and pulled him into a hug. “You don’t have to say anything at all.”

Because love didn’t need words, sometimes.


	18. m i s f i t

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Marlene/Dorcas]

**eighteen:** m i s f i t

Dorcas sighed into the kiss. Lifting her hands, she cupped Marlene’s face, caressing her cheeks with her thumbs. For a split second, she felt hands on her hips pulling her in. Then, right as she was about to deepen the kiss, Marlene began pushing her away and pulling back.

Confused, Dorcas blinked her eyes open. “What’s-“

“I can’t do this.”

Dorcas let go of Marlene as if burned by her skin. “What?”

“I can’t… I can’t do this,” Marlene said. She stumbled back, her eyes so wide it looked like she was shocked by her own words.

Dorcas’ hands began shaking. She didn’t know what to say. Or do. A few minutes ago there had been pure bliss and now the perfect picture was crumbling right in front of her. She closed her eyes and opened them again, hoping to Merlin this was a bad dream and that if she tried hard enough, everything would go back to blissful perfection. But Marlene was turning to leave. And Dorcas broke out in a cold, panicky sweat. “What?”

“I’m sorry. I need- I need to go.” And she whirled around and ran.

For a long moment, Dorcas simply stood there. Rooted to the spot. Then she shook her head, trying to clear it and make sense of the situation.

“What just happened?” she asked the empty dorm. Icy rejection tried to settle in the pit of her stomach but she pushed back against it, letting worry take its place instead. Something had gone horribly wrong here and she didn’t know what.

“Marlene? Marlene!” she called after the other girl, running after her. 

When she’d made it down the stairs and was crossing the common room, cursing under her breath, Lily jumped up from her spot by the fireplace and stopped her. “What’s wrong? Marlene just left. Did something happen?”

“I don’t know! She kissed me and then she ran!” 

Lily grinned. “She kissed you?”

Dorcas blushed under Lily’s gaze. “It was nice. Really, really, really nice.” Smiling, she recalled warm lips on hers. And warm hands on her hips. She shivered as a tingly feeling swept through her like a wave. Right. She needed this solved. And her girl- And Marlene back in her arms.

“Sorry, Lily, I need to go, figure this out. I have to find her.”

Without waiting for a response, Dorcas left. She did hear a muted ‘good luck’ as the portrait closed behind her, though.

Dorcas reckoned that she knew most of Marlene’s preferred hiding spots in the castle but it still took her a good amount of time to check all of them. Unfortunately, Marlene was nowhere to be found. Unsure what to do next, Dorcas wandered into the courtyard to her left to take a minute to think. And found Marlene right there, sitting on a bench.

Heaving a sigh of immeasurable relief, Dorcas walked over and sat down next to her. Not too close but not too far away, either. But she couldn’t talk. She didn't know whether she’d said too much already or not enough. And she didn’t know where to start. So they sat and said nothing.

“Why are you here?” Marlene whispered after a while. Her eyes were red. Dorcas hated the fact that she’d cried alone.

“I was worried,” she responded. And even though it was true, her voice sounded shaky. Or maybe _because_ it was true.

More silence.

“Why did you kiss me?”

Marlene swallowed. Then she looked at Dorcas. Her smile was so happy and so sad at the same time that it almost shattered her heart. “I wanted to.” She looked away again. “Why were you worried?”

“Because you looked so upset. I wanted to make sure you’re alright.” _And because I like you._ _Wait, hold on._ “You wanted to kiss me?”

Marlene began trembling. “I always want to kiss you,” she said, holding back a sob. “I want to kiss you in the morning and the evening and at every possible moment in between. I want to kiss you immediately after Quidditch when your hair looks fantastic and your cheeks are red from the wind. I want to kiss you in class, every time you bite your lip when you’re focused on something. I want to kiss you in the sunshine and under the bloody stars. I want to kiss you and never have to think about stopping.” She wiped her eyes and cheeks angrily as if her tears symbolized some sort of betrayal.

Gently, Dorcas took her hand. Caressed it. Blood was rushing in her ears. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was sure the whole of Scotland was able to hear it. She decided to push her luck. Just a tiny bit. “So…why did you? Stop, I mean?”

“It’s stupid. I can’t tell you.”

“Alright. But you’re not okay. It’s obviously not stupid to you. It bothers you and-“

“I can’t have another thing that makes me different, okay?”

Dorcas blinked. But before she could say anything, Marlene went on. She was clearly nervous to talk about this, as evidenced by her bouncing knee. Dorcas kept holding on to her hand.

“I- I’ve always been the weird one in the family. I don’t know why. That’s just how it’s always been. My sister’s the nice one, the polite one, the easy one, the good one. And I’m just…difficult. And it’s always been that way, even before I got my letter. And that rotten piece of paper…” She sighed. “They’re…fine with it. But it hasn’t exactly made things easier. And now _this_? I already feel like I don’t belong sometimes. Like a misfit. Like I shouldn’t be here. Or there. Or anywhere, maybe. And I don’t know how to deal with it.”

“I’m so sorry,” Dorcas said quietly, tears burning in her eyes. She’d known Marlene struggled with family life sometimes but she hadn’t known it was this bad. Made her feel so alone. So broken.

Marlene’s head whipped around and she looked as if she couldn’t believe that she’d said all that and that someone had listened. And cared. With a loud sob, she broke.

Dorcas reached out and pulled her into a hug. Cradling her head, she rocked Marlene in her arms as she cried, whispering in her ear.

“You belong, Marlene. Being different or weird or difficult doesn’t change that. Feeling like a misfit doesn’t change that. And kissing girls, kissing _me_, doesn’t make you any of those things, by the way. It just…makes you, you. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. It’s not a mistake. Lily, Sirius, the others…_me_. We want you here. We _need_ you here. You belong. I promise, you belong.”

For a long while, they just sat there, Dorcas holding Marlene, crying together. Eventually, Marlene's breathing evened out again and Dorcas could feel arms sliding around her waist, hugging back. Marlene also sat up a little and put her head on Dorcas' shoulder. Trembling, she whispered: "That's good."

"Hmm?" 

"That's good, I said. Because I really like kissing you." 


	19. s l i n g

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed yesterday, unfortunately, so how about two for the price of one today? :) Have also decided to put the (relation)ships in the notes before the chapter, to make things easier.  
\----  
[Sirius/Remus]

**nineteen:** s l i n g

Sirius had been waiting for ages. Well, at least that’s what it felt like to him. In reality, Madam Pomfrey had kicked him out not ten minutes ago. Apparently he had been “hovering” and “disturbing her other patients”. He’d huffed and puffed but she’d shown him the door anyways. So now he was pacing outside the big double doors, waiting for Remus.

He looked up when he heard a creak. The gates to Pomfrey’s kingdom opened and Remus shuffled towards him, closing the doors behind him.

“What the hell? Was last night really that bad?” Sirius exclaimed, pointing anxiously at the contraption supporting Remus’ arm.

“No, just the damn elbow again,” came a mumbled response. “She thinks I cracked it. Again. I drank the Skelegro and everything but she still insists I wear this until tomorrow morning so I can’t ‘overexert myself’.” He shook his head, annoyed.

“Oh, come on, Moons. You know she’s not trying to be mean,” Sirius said and put his arm around Remus’ shoulder. He knew Remus always struggled with other people fussing over him and continuously worried about being a nuisance or asking for help. “And let’s be honest, she probably wouldn’t have let you go already if you weren’t wearing it, right? She just wants you to be okay. We all do.”

He leaned over and kissed Remus' temple.

“I’m fine,” Remus answered but he relaxed against Sirius anyway, sighing in relief that someone was holding him.

“Alright then, wolf boy. Let’s go see what Prongs and Wormy are up to,” Sirius whispered and led Remus back to the common room.

***

“Pads? Are you still there? Pads?”

“Moony?” Sirius put aside his Potions textbook and got up from his bed.

They’d come up to the dorm about an hour ago. Remus had wanted to lie down and take a nap and Sirius had gone with him under the pretense of 'studying without the noise of the common room' but they’d both known he’d just wanted to make sure that Remus was alright. To keep a watchful eye.

“Moons?” Sirius asked again, walking over to Remus’ bed and drawing back the curtains slowly.

“Uh… Help? Please?” Remus was sitting on his bed, stuck inside his sweater.

Sirius was absolutely certain that he was blushing behind the fabric. Remus had tried to take off his sweater but hadn’t thought about the fact that he wasn’t allowed to move his arm. Once he’d taken off the sling and managed to pull the jumper over his head, he’d realized that he couldn’t actually move either arm to get any further.

Sirius bit his lip to keep from laughing. “Sure. No problem. Here, let me.”

He held on to one sleeve so Remus could get his healthy arm out, then he took the jumper and pulled it completely over his head and the other sleeve carefully off of the broken arm, successfully freeing Remus.

“Thank you,” he grumbled, still embarrassed he had to ask for help. Then he saw Sirius’ face. “Don’t laugh!”

Sirius coughed to cover up a chuckle. “So, what were you trying to do? Just take off the jumper and go back to bed in your shirt or did you want to put on your pajamas as well?”

“No, this is fine. But uh…could you maybe help with this? It has a clasp that I can’t quite reach.” He held up the sling.

“Course, Moons. Anything for you.” And Sirius meant it. Remus blushed a little harder.

After they’d managed that hurdle as well, Sirius spoke up again. He was grinning. “You really shouldn’t be left alone, you know. Might fall off your bed or something.”

“Then sleep with me tonight.”

Sirius’ eyes widened and a faint blush crept onto his cheeks.

“I mean- That’s not what I- I meant- Sleep. As in…you know, _sleep_. In the same bed. So you can…keep me from falling. Oh, Merlin, just forget it. Forget I said anything.” Remus looked away, blushing harder than ever before. He couldn’t believe he’d blurted out that particular desire of his. And like _that_, too.

“No way I’m forgetting that. No. Way,” Sirius responded with a smile so bright, Remus was certain it could’ve lit up the Great Hall. Then he climbed onto the bed and made himself comfortable.

Remus swallowed. They’d never done this before. Sure, they’d had sleepovers. And their nights in the Shrieking Shack. And they’d comforted each other during bad nights and dreams. But not since… Well, not since they’d realized they were a lot more than friends. _But oh, how tempting,_ Remus thought, a shiver running up his spine.

“O-okay,” he said, taking a deep breath.

“Okay?” Sirius asked with a smile. It sounded like he wanted reassurance. For them both.

“Okay,” Remus answered, now smiling as well.

Scooting back, he lay down next to Sirius, turning onto his good side so he could look at Sirius, who promptly put an arm around him and pulled him close.

Their hearts were racing. This felt different. Momentous. Like they’d run, and won, a marathon and their prize was this. _Marathon,_ thought Remus. _Yes, that fits. Because he leaves me breathless._

Gathering up all his courage, he leaned forward and kissed Sirius. As soon as their lips touched, he was rewarded for his bravery. Sirius reacted immediately. He moaned and pressed closer, threading his fingers through Remus’ hair.

“Fuck. You’re amazing, Moony,” Sirius gasped against Remus’ lips. Desperate. Needy. “But your arm! Careful- We need to-”

“It’s fine- This is…oh, shit…fine. Kissing…w-works. Don’t- Don’t stop,” Remus panted, trying to get even closer.

Sirius groaned and pulled back. Just a tiny bit. “I really-“, he gave Remus a quick peck on the lips, “-really-“, and another one, “-want to. But you’re tired and your elbow is messed up and you need to rest. We both do.” And with that, he kissed Remus one last time and then brought some space between them.

“I hate that you’re right,” whined Remus and submitted himself to the fact that they shouldn’t be doing this when he felt a twinge in his elbow.

Carefully, Sirius pulled him into another hug. Helped Remus get comfortable. “Right. No shenanigans. I’ll still hold you, though. Just to make sure you’re not going to fall off the bed, of course.”

Remus could hear the grin in his voice. He chuckled. “_Of course._”

And hold him he did.

Of course.


	20. t r e a d

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [James/Lily]

**twenty**: t r e a d

They’d been fighting for the last 50 minutes. _Easily_. The common room had emptied around them, with people fleeing to other - calmer - parts of the castle.

“You are such an idiot, James! How could you even have come to that conclusion?” Lily yelled.

“How could I not have, is what you _should_ be asking! I didn’t know that every time you say something, I should assume the opposite is actually true!” James replied.

It had all begun with some spilled pumpkin juice at dinner. And it had turned into four months’ worth of confrontations and fights they’d never had, but instead had pushed aside for the sake of keeping on their rose-colored glasses. Up until now, they’d never actually fought, never actually talked through anything. Just sucked it up and moved on, to keep the peace. But the tension between them had built steadily. And just as James’ cup had shattered on the table and covered them in pumpkin juice, so had the dam between them, covering them in their past mistakes.

And suddenly, they’d been in the middle of a fight. Rehashing everything they’d pushed away and never talked about.

Lily glared at James. “Oh, no! Don’t you dare put this on me! I told you every last detail and you simply didn’t listen!”

“Oh, right! So I can’t put this on you, but you can definitely put it on me? Is that it? Thanks ever so much, _darling_!” James replied angrily.

“What did you just call me?” Lily hissed. She warned: “You better tread lightly, James, because you’re on thin bloody ice right now and even though I love you, I will most definitely hex you if you ever say that again.”

There were about three seconds where neither of them realized what had just happened. But as James opened his mouth to respond, his anger suddenly turned into shock. With his mouth gaping open, he stared at Lily. And Lily stared right back, similarly stunned.

Everything had come to a standstill. The silence was almost deafening. The only thing that could be heard was their labored breathing and the fire crackling in the fireplace.

“What did you say?” James whispered. He couldn’t believe what he’d heard.

“Don’t- Don’t change the subject! We need to talk about this!” Lily stammered, cheeks going red while she tried to salvage the situation.

James’ shocked expression changed into a wide smile. “Yes. Yes, we do. Because I love you too and I never want to have another fight like this ever again.”

Lily began to nod. “No, I don’t want that either.”

Then, ever so slowly, the corners of her mouth turned up and she smiled, eventually breaking out into happy laughter. James joined in a few moments later.

And once they’d calmed down again, caught their breath, their fight went into the next round. This time with less venom, less bitterness, and more love.


	21. t r e a s u r e

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [James&Remus] [Marauders]

**twenty-one:** t r e a s u r e

Remus climbed through the portrait hole and went straight to James, who was reading by the fire. He sat down next to his friend, looking around the common room to try and figure out if anybody was paying any attention to them. When he was sure that they were all minding their own business, he nudged James to get his attention.

James lifted his head, curious. “Yeah?”

But once he realized that Remus was eyeing everyone in the room and watching what was happening around them, he sat up, closing his book immediately.

“What is it? Did something happen?” _To you,_ he wanted to add but he knew that Remus did not like that question at all.

“No, I’m fine,” Remus answered, rolling his eyes. He’d definitely been able to hear the worry in James’ voice. Why was everybody always so worried about him? Shaking his head, he went on. “I need to show you something. Meet in the dorm?”

James’ eyes widened just a fraction. ‘Meet in the dorm’ meant serious business. It meant ‘we need to talk immediately’ and ‘don’t be suspicious’. Leaning back with a calm expression to keep their cover, he gave a small nod.

Remus smiled and left the common room behind. Once he’d climbed the stairs and reached their dormitory, he began pacing. _If this works out…_ He stopped himself from hoping for too much. Instead, he paced some more, letting the nervous energy take over for a little while.

Twelve minutes later, James stormed into the room. He was breathing hard but instead of taking a second to catch his breath, he didn’t waste any time and immediately asked what Remus wanted to show him.

“I found something.” Remus pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket, folded into a neat little square. He held it out for his friend to take and went back to pacing anxiously. 

James began unfolding the parchment, clearly a little bit disappointed judging by the look on his face. “Well. This certainly isn’t the treasure I was expecting.”

Remus stopped in his tracks. “What treasure?”

“They say there’s some sort of secret buried under the castle. I was hoping you’d found it.” James shrugged.

“What are you even talking about? No! I- _No_. Just…read it, yeah? Read it!” Remus pointed at the parchment that James was still holding to try and make him get a move on.

James looked down, clearly having forgotten about the paper. “Oh, right!” he said and started reading.

Remus crossed his arms over his chest to keep his hands from shaking. He was waiting for the moment. The moment the Knut dropped and James understood. And he didn’t have to wait long. Only a few seconds later, his friend gasped.

“Merlin’s beard!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah.”

“Merlin’s beard, I think this could work!”

“Me too,” Remus said.

They stared at each other, both grinning widely.

“_Homonculous Charm_”, James breathed as if he was speaking sacred words. “Brilliant! You’re a genius, Rem! Where did you even find this?”

“I was in the library, working on my essay and I went to get this one book because I thought it might be helpful – it wasn’t – but it had a small section about that charm. So I copied it. Guess it was helpful after all.” He chuckled. The nervous tension was slowly dissipating and leaving his body.

“Oh, this is _awesome_!” James was basically vibrating with excitement.

“What’s awesome?” asked a voice from the door.

They glanced over and saw Peter and Sirius walking in. Remus smiled at James. Their friends had the most perfect timing sometimes.

“We need to show you something,” they said in unison.


	22. g h o s t

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Depending on how you see these things, there's a little bit of...spice in this chapter.   
____  
[Sirius&Marlene] [Marlene/Dorcas]

**twenty-two:** g h o s t

“Woah,” Sirius said to Marlene as he sat down across from her at the Gryffindor table. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Marlene tore her gaze away from the letter in her hand only to roll her eyes at him. “Brilliant joke.”

Sirius laughed. “It was, actually. Because we’re surrounded by them at all times? Get it? Alright, so the joke sucks. Fine.” Shaking his head with a grin, he grabbed a piece of toast.

“Still, you don’t look so good. Did something happen?”

Marlene sighed. He’d used _that_ voice. The soft, caring one he reserved for friends or emergencies. Or both. She gave in. Waving the letter, she said: “It’s from my mother. I told her about Dorcas and now she wants to meet her.”

“So?”

“So I don’t know if I want that to happen, alright? The whole thing feels strange.” Marlene crammed the letter back into its envelope with a snort. Her mother was definitely something else.

When she looked back at Sirius, he’d gone quite pale all of a sudden. “Now _you_ look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said with a laugh. “What happened?”

But Sirius didn’t reply. Instead, she realized with a sinking feeling, he was focused on something behind her. She turned around and came face to face with Dorcas. She’d never seen her girlfriend with such a pained expression.

“Thanks, babe. Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?” Dorcas said, then turned around and left.

Marlene stared after her.

“What are you waiting for? Go! And make it quick, class starts soon,” Sirius urged.

Coming to her senses, Marlene turned back for a second to whisper a quick thank you, then jumped up and ran after Dorcas.

Unfortunately, this was the exact time when a lot of students would nip into the Great Hall for a short breakfast and Marlene was suddenly presented with a mass of people in the Entrance Hall and on the stairs.

“Shit, shit, shit!”

Looking around, she tried to find Dorcas in the crowd. Not being able to spot her immediately, she thought about the possibility that Dorcas might already be on her way to Transfiguration. Deciding to give it a shot, Marlene raced up the stairs, dodging people left and right and pushing back against the throng.

Once she’d finally reached the top of the stairs, she skidded around the corner and took off down the corridor. If she wasn’t mistaken, the tiny figure at the end was the person she was looking for.

Marlene slowed down halfway down the corridor and stopped several feet before she’d reached her. Dorcas was leaning against the wall, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Marlene’s throat burned from running and she blamed it for the tears that were threatening to spill over her own cheeks, even though she knew it didn’t have anything to do with that and everything to do with the girl in front of her.

“I love you,” she said with a raspy voice.

Dorcas looked up, directly into her eyes. And then away.

Fuck. _I really messed up_, Marlene thought. But she wasn’t about to give up.

“You asked me to tell you how I really feel. I know you didn’t mean it that way but…that’s it. I’ve… I’ve never said it before but that’s how I really feel. I love you.”

Marlene had walked the last few steps as she’d spoken and was now standing next to Dorcas. Her hands were shaking. Her mouth had gone dry.

“Why… Why don’t you want me to meet your mother?” Dorcas whispered, still wiping tears from her face.

“I do.” Marlene smiled when Dorcas looked at her, shocked.

“It’s just… I wasn’t expecting that reaction from her. When I said that it felt strange, that’s what I was talking about. I guess I was preparing for a fight or something like that. I thought she’d be upset. And then she wasn’t and it made me feel weird. And anxious. Because I do want you to meet her but now I’m… I don’t know what to expect. What if I bring you over and she freaks out? I don’t want you to get caught up in anything.”

One second, Dorcas was next to her and in the next, she was in front of her, pulling Marlene in for a kiss.

The moment their lips touched, Marlene relaxed into it. Nobody could make her feel the way Dorcas did. And she hated, hated, hated that she’d made her cry. Lifting her hands to Dorcas’ face, she caressed her cheeks with her thumbs and wiped away the last few tears.

“I’m sorry,” Marlene gasped when they came up for air. “I was trying to protect you. And I hurt you instead. I’m sorry.” She began peppering Dorcas’ face with butterfly kisses.

Dorcas smiled, the adoration burning as bright in her eyes as the stars in the night sky. “I accept your apology,” she said as Marlene kissed the tip of her nose. “But I really think we need to stop running away.”

Marlene nodded. She remembered the last time they’d gotten themselves into a sticky situation. That time, she’d been the one to run.

Suddenly, they could hear voices at the other end of the corridor. Breakfast was over and students were about to flood the stairs and the connected hallways.

Dorcas grinned. She reached for Marlene’s hands. “Just not right now. Come with me,” she said with a chuckle and pulled Marlene around the corner and into an unused classroom.

Pushing the door closed behind her and leaning against it, Marlene laughed. “No wonder Potter likes you so much. You break almost as many rules as he does.”

Dorcas reached for Marlene, tilting her chin up with her fingers. A wicked smile was dancing across her lips. “Do you really want to talk about James right now?”

“No,” gasped Marlene. Heart racing, she grabbed Dorcas’ tie and pulled her closer, moaning when their lips met.

Dorcas snaked one arm around Marlene’s waist, holding onto her and pressing their bodies closer together. Marlene sighed and rocked into her when Dorcas bit her lip. Trembling, she let go of the tie and put her hands to better use.

They were very late for class that day. And for detention that night.


	23. a n c i e n t

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Sirius/Remus]

**twenty-three:** a n c i e n t

The water lapped almost silently at the boat as they crossed the lake. Remus looked back at the castle one more time, trying to remember how he’d felt back then when he’d seen it for the first time. He couldn’t recall. Things were so different now.

Sirius took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly, giving him a small smile when he turned back around.

“Feels strange, doesn’t it?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Remus nodded. He didn’t quite have the words.

Now it was Sirius’ turn to look back. “My first real home.” When he turned to Remus, there were tears glittering in his eyes but he was still smiling. “The place that would lead me to James. And the others.” He sighed, happily. Content. “And _you_.”

Remus put his head on Sirius’ shoulder, closing his eyes and listening to the world around them. The wind in the trees, the water sloshing against the side of the boat, the emotional chatter from the others.

He knew what Sirius meant. There was something about the castle with its many towers and hidden passageways and dangerous plants and omnipresent teachers. Something that made it comfortable, even though most of the beds were either too soft or too hard. Something that made it homey, even though it was draughtier than the Shrieking Shack. Something that made it happy and joyful, even though ghosts lived on every floor. And while it was certainly a nice thought that the castle altered their reality and made all of these things happen, Remus strongly suspected that it had nothing at all to do with the stones that made up the walls and everything to do with the people inside the walls. The people you can switch beds with and borrow jumpers from and walk through the corridors with.

Grinning, Remus lifted his head and pressed a kiss to Sirius’ jaw. Sirius let go of his hand and put an arm around his shoulders. Together they sat, watching their friends in the boats before them while reminiscing about the gift the castle had given them.

Something ancient. Deeper than canyons. Stronger than a tree’s roots. So powerful it could tear through pain and sorrow and darkness and pull you through towards the sunlight.

“_I love you._”


	24. d i z z y

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mentions of pain, physical injury  
\----  
[Marauders]

**twenty-four:** d i z z y

“I feel dizzy. Do we actually want to do this?” Sirius asked James and Peter, unsure. They were climbing the stairs to the dormitories, looking for Remus.

Peter stopped walking and stared back at him, making his friends stop right there on the steps as well. His eyes had gone comically wide, flabbergasted. “_Now_ you’re scared? Really? But not when we had to keep those leav-“, he broke off, looking around to see if anybody had heard him. He continued in an angry whisper: “Not when we did all that messed up stuff? Like eating _moths_? _Now_? That it’s over? You’re really something, Sirius.”

Peter crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head as Sirius shrugged. “Sorry. Can’t help it. What if he hates it? I’m worried.”

He anxiously bit his lip. Peter snorted. He was still mad. James tried to diffuse the situation. After all, they were standing in a stairwell, for Merlin’s sake.

“Well. Uh,” he began, wringing his hands nervously. “We can’t take it back now so we might as well go through with it, right? I mean…we already did all the ‘messed up stuff’, as Pete said. And I have to agree with him, Sirius. It is a bit weird that you were fine with all that but now that we’ve reached our goal, you’re getting cold feet. Although I also get _why_,” he added when Sirius opened his mouth to defend himself.

“But here’s the thing: if we actually need to discuss this further, we need to get off these stairs. Curious ears everywhere. If not, we’re doing this now. Like we agreed.”

Sirius looked from James to Peter. His friends were right. James raised his eyebrows expectantly. Peter, who had calmed down again, leaned against the wall, waiting for his answer. Sirius took a deep breath. “Fine. Let’s go.”

And with that he pushed past Peter and took the remaining steps at a fast pace, trying hard not to let the remaining doubt and anxiety take over. He didn’t even check whether his friends were following him. Peter grumbled “thank Merlin” under his breath and shot James a glance before taking off after Sirius. James heaved a sigh of relief and followed suit. 

_Crisis averted,_ he thought but couldn’t blame either of his friends. Not Sirius for getting cold feet and not Peter for losing his temper. They’d all been on edge for weeks now. But then there’d been a lightning storm a week ago and all of their efforts had proven successful. And the full moon was only two days away, so it was now or never, really.

Wordlessly, they filed into their dorm. Remus, who’d been resting up here in preparation for the moon, sat up with a wince. Curious, he watched as James closed the door behind him and secured it with every locking charm he knew. Peter spelled the curtains closed and spoke a few silencing charms. And Sirius moved one of the beds so they’d have a bit more room.

He’d always known his friends to be strange but this was…bizarre, to say the least. And just a bit unsettling, especially when they stood in the middle of the room and faced him. Remus felt a panicky coil tighten in the pit of his stomach. The fear that these three weren’t actually his friends and were just pretending had never quite left his heart.

When James finally spoke, after Sirius had nudged him with his elbow, he couldn’t help but hold his breath for a second. Did he want to hear it?

“Sorry about the curtains and everything but uh…we can’t risk anybody seeing this.” He shrugged in apology.

Remus simply nodded. He had no idea what to say or do.

Sirius spoke up next. “We’ve got a… A surprise for you. Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad! I hope.” He smiled and ran a jittery hand through his hair.

Remus swallowed, nodding again. This felt like the beginning of a bad dream.

“But you have to promise not to scream. Or be loud. And don’t be scared,” Peter added.

Somehow that didn’t make Remus feel any better. He just kept staring at them, stomach in tight knots now. He didn’t like surprises. Didn’t like them in the least. But he nodded anyway.

Peter mirrored his nod and glanced over at Sirius and James. “Together?”

“Think so,” the replied in unison.

Remus watched as they all closed their eyes in concentration. Suddenly, their faces became blurry. Seemed to change, melt. Remus blinked, trying to figure out whether his vision was messed up. Shaking his head, he looked on as Peter shrank. Or maybe James was getting taller? And was Sirius’ hair longer all of a sudden?

Remus’ heart raced. This wasn’t happening. He was seeing things. Closing his eyes, he tried to get his heart rate under control. In the next second, he felt the foot of his bed dip and he opened his eyes to a sight he’d never forget.

A large black dog, paws on his bed, a squeaking rat on the floor and a huge stag with a very human head-tilt were looking at him. Standing in the exact spots his friends had just vanished from.

_They didn’t vanish. They’re right here. _Recalling Peter’s earlier words, Remus swallowed his scream. Not taking his eyes off the animals before him, he scooted down his bed carefully. The dog backed away, giving him space. Taking a deep breath, he put his legs over the edge and stood. Very slowly.

With a happy chirp, the rat scurried towards him and began climbing his pant leg. Remus bent down to pick it up half-way. As the little grey creature sat in his hand, he gasped, reality hitting him for the first time.

“Pete?” he asked with a whisper. The rat seemed to nod and then used his arm as a bridge to climb onto his shoulder, sniffing his neck. The tiny whiskers tickled and Remus smiled as he turned towards the stag in the room, so to speak. Bit by bit, he raised his hand to its head, stroking the soft, warm spot between its eyes.

“James”, he said softly and the stag nuzzled its head into his hand.

Turning to his left, he looked at the dog, patiently waiting for its turn. “Hi Sirius,” Remus said with a smile and knelt. The dog jumped up immediately and began licking his face. Remus sank his fingers into the soft black fur, the knots in his stomach finally loosening.

The rat squeaked on his shoulder and made its way down his jumper again. A few moments later, Peter was back.

“But…why?” Remus wanted to know, not quite ready to see the whole truth. Or accept it, rather.

“No humans allowed during the moon, right?” Peter grinned.

Remus heart almost stopped. He pulled his hands out of the dog’s fur, sinking to the floor. _They know. They know. And they’re still here. Even better, they…they…_ His mouth went dry and tears burned in his eyes.

“So we thought, what if there was a way to not be human for a while?” James added, having turned back right after Peter.

Sirius the dog sat, then became Sirius the human again. He smiled. “You know, to keep you company.”

Remus glanced from Peter to James to Sirius and back to Peter again. He couldn’t believe anybody would do this. _For you. You can’t believe they’d do that for you, _the voice in his head said. He felt like his heart might burst.

“Hey, you okay?” Sirius asked, concerned. He shot James a look when he saw the first tears roll down Remus' cheeks. “We don’t… If you don’t want us there… It’s fine. We don’t have to do this. We just thought…,” he babbled.

Remus started sobbing in earnest. That they’d do all that for him and then still be willing to back out and leave their plan behind because it might make him uncomfortable… He couldn’t believe his extraordinary luck. He felt like his gloomy skies had been torn open to let in the first rays of sunshine.

He licked his lips. Wiping his tears, he reassured them with a raspy voice. “I’m f-fine.”

Sirius put an arm around him and Peter and James came closer, kneeling on the floor next to them. “Are you sure?” James asked.

Remus nodded. “Hap-happy tear-tears”, he admitted with a sob, trying to catch his breath.

James whooped triumphantly and pulled all of them into a big group hug.

Even when Remus continued to cry, they held him. And for the first time, Remus allowed himself to think _I’m not alone._

Two days later, when the moon rose, the white orb gleaming in the dark sky, promising nothing but pain and suffering, he clung to that thought. He clung to it as he closed his eyes while he sank to the floor in front of his friends and opened them to a dog, a rat, and a stag, watching him with sad eyes. He clung to it as his muscles ripped and his bones broke and a shrill whine escaped his throat. Clung to it as darkness overtook him.

And he finally, finally, _finally_ believed it when he came to again, gasping from the pain, and his shivering, battered body was being supported by a stag lying behind him, covered and warmed by a dog right next to him, with a rat tickling his cheek and chattering encouragingly.

_No, I’m not alone, _he thought as he let them hold him._ I’m not alone._


	25. t a s t y

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [James/Lily]

**Twenty-five:** t a s t y

James sat up with a happy smile when Lily stepped around the curtain.

“That went well, didn’t it?” she teased, one eyebrow raised.

Her boyfriend had the grace to blush, at least. Then he shrugged. “Sorry,” he said and it almost sounded like a question. Rolling her eyes, Lily came a little closer, put her bag on the ground and sat on the edge of his bed, careful not to nudge his injured leg.

Earlier today, James had insisted on going out to train in the storm with Dorcas and the rest of the team. There were only two days left until the match against Ravenclaw and he’d wanted to take advantage of the wind and rain. He’d argued that it was necessary to fly in that kind of weather if one wanted to perfect their skills. His friends had tried to convince him otherwise but ultimately given up, knowing full well they wouldn't be able to stop him. In the end, the wind and rain had taken advantage of _him_ and dragged his arse off the broom ten minutes into training. Dorcas had, even though she was struggling to hold on herself, been able to cast a Cushioning Charm but he’d still crashed to the ground hard.

Madam Pomfrey had given the all-clear for the leg, determining it was only bruised and not broken, but not for his head. She was worried about the blow during the harsh landing and a possible concussion and had ordered bed rest for at least a day.

Lily shook her head. “Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to all of Gryffindor when Pomfrey decides to keep you here and not let you fly,” she said with a smug grin.

James blanched. He hadn’t thought about that possibility yet. “Do you really think she would?”

“Of course she really would, James! You might have a concussion. Do you honestly think she’s going to let you back on a broom in two days?” Lily laughed.

_Damn_. He hung his head, upset. “I bet you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked his girlfriend with a glare.

“A little bit, yes”, she chuckled. Then her expression changed. “I’m glad you’re okay, though. I was worried.”

James’ glare softened. “I’ll be fine. Especially now that you’re here.”

Lily smiled, red tinting her cheeks. Then she remembered something, eyes going wide. “Oh! I almost forgot. I brought you something!”

She bent down to pick up her bag. “I put it under a stasis charm but I think it failed on my way here, sorry if it’s a little squished,” she explained and pulled out a piece of Treacle tart, wrapped in a napkin. 

James unwrapped it with a grin so wide it made his cheeks hurt. “Treacle tart is my favorite!”

As he ate his dessert with one hand, he reached for Lily’s hand with the other. Softly stroking the back of her hand with his thumb, he smiled. And it was such an earnest smile, a smile so honest and without any trace of mischief that it made Lily break out in goosebumps. “Thank you,” he said.

“Well,” Lily replied, “Marlene suggested I bring you a ‘tasty treat’ but I don’t think she meant Treacle tart. Another time, maybe.”

James almost choked on his treat.


	26. d a r k

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another sad one. sorry.

**twenty-six:** d a r k

Remus stumbled down the hallway, backpack slung over his shoulder. He’d spent the last thirty minutes packing in the dim light of a weak Lumos. He simply wasn’t able to bear the harsh light of reality. Couldn’t bear to look at the flat and the things in it. Couldn’t bear to see…_him_ everywhere. Even the faint scent of cologne in the air was overwhelming and threatened to draw all of the oxygen out of his lungs.

So he’d kept the lights off while he gathered his things. Not that he owned a lot. All of the important stuff fit in the small backpack he was now carrying. A few steps from the door he bumped into the cabinet, his hip catching one of the corners. Pain exploded through his body, the insignificant bruise acting as an outlet for a much deeper agony. As it set him alight, burning him from the inside out, memories flooded his mind.

Unrelenting and unkind, they reminded him of the things that had transpired in the hours since nightfall. _My condolences, Remus, I know you loved them… He’s safe. Hagrid has him… No, he’s gone, too, unfortunately, I'm sorry… I’m afraid it’s true, Remus… He’s been taken to Azkaban… _

His stomach turned and he fell to his knees, retching violently. Tears stung in his eyes as his body convulsed. After it was over, he pushed himself up, struggling to get to his feet. Clutching the wall, he steadied himself, securing the backpack over his shoulder. His throat hurt. Holding his hip, he hobbled along, following the dark corridor.

Once he’d reached the door, he opened it, stepped outside into the cold air and unceremoniously pulled it shut behind himself. For the fraction of a second, there was doubt. Hesitation. But the pain cursing through his blood eradicated every last trace of it. He couldn’t stay. He needed to leave this place behind. This flat, this city, this part of himself. _Him_.

And as he walked down the street, the rising sun behind him, he knew perfectly well that he would never be able to.


	27. c o a t

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [James&Sirius] [Marauders]

**twenty-seven:** c o a t

“All of it? _By hand_?”

Professor McGonagall turned to smile sweetly at James as she took their wands. “You’re welcome to use your feet instead, Mr. Potter. In any case, you will be cleaning this up. _Without magic_.”

Sirius groaned. “But _Minnie_! Come on!” he whined.

This really wasn’t how they’d wanted their evening to go, he thought. They’d been on their way back from the Owlery, carrying an important ingredient for a prank. Unfortunately, James had tripped on the invisibility cloak, stumbled and taken Sirius – and the package – down with him. And now the ground was covered in a thin coat of slime. Slime that should have rained down on the Slytherin gits tomorrow morning. Instead, it looked like he and James would be covered in it tonight. Because McGonagall had been on patrol and caught them red-handed. Thankfully, James had been able to hide the cloak in time. That would have been a whole other can of flobberworms.

The professor turned to Sirius. Her smile was gone and she’d pressed her lips into a tight line, watching him over the rims of her glasses. “If you’d rather discuss where you got the concoction that is now on the floor and why you were outside of your common room at this time in the evening, I’m all ears. I’m sure Mrs. Potter would be interested as well. If not, I suggest you start cleaning now.”

Both boys paled at the mention of their parents. They hadn’t realized until this moment that this hard punishment was actually McGonagall being lenient with them.

“Of course, Professor!” Sirius answered, swallowing hard and switching back to a more formal title.

McGonagall nodded sharply. “I will be back to check on your progress in an hour. For your sake, gentlemen, I hope any trace of mucus – and _you_ – will be gone from this corridor by then. You can come get your wands tomorrow before class.”

She turned on her heel and left them to their own devices. 

Sirius and James exhaled loudly when she was out of earshot.

“That was close!” Sirius gasped, relieved.

James nodded. “We’re lucky she likes you. Or this would’ve gone very differently.”

Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “You know it.” Then he sobered up. “We really need to figure out a safer way to smuggle these things, though. Sure, _everything_ went wrong tonight, but this isn’t the first time we got caught. And that’s _not_ counting the massive amount of times when we _almost_ got caught.”

“True,” James agreed. “And we didn’t even have Remus and Peter with us tonight. Can you imagine all of us under the cloak?” He shook his head.

“Hm,” Sirius grumbled. “We need some sort of…an alarm that alerts us if she’s close. All of the hidden passageways in the world won’t do us any good if we have no way of telling were McGee is and whether she’s about to have our heads.”

“Or Filch, for that matter. He’s even keener on hanging us from the ceiling,” James added, the wheels in his head already turning, trying to figure out a solution to their problem.

“Speaking of Filch, we need to figure out how to clean this up,” Sirius said and went looking for supplies in the nearest broom cupboard. He glanced back at James, whose eyes had glazed over in that very particular way. “James, stop plotting and start scrubbing or Minnie might actually kill us dead!”

But when they finally got to work, they'd already begun mapping out a plan.


	28. r i d e

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the radio silence. Got taken down by a nasty cold on Monday and have been trying not to cough myself to death ever since. Because of course. The perfect way to spend my favorite day of the year. -.- Anyways. Three chapters today? Coming right up.  
_____  
[Peter][Marauders]

**twenty-eight:** r i d e

Peter got on the train with an eye roll, leaving his friends behind on the platform. Considering how much kissing was happening, an uninformed bystander might have thought they were saying goodbye forever, when in fact they were only saying goodbye for the duration of the Christmas holidays. With plans to visit each other during the hols, no less.  
And personally, he thought having a snog might be a bit more comfortable on the train, with the option of sitting down. But what did he know? His girlfriend had broken up with him ages ago. And he couldn’t be mad at Mary, really. She’d been right. They’d been having a nice time but in the end, they weren’t a good fit. And yet he couldn’t help but feel a sharp twinge at the thought. Not just because of Mary, though she had definitely played a part.  
Things were changing so quickly and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. It used to be just the four of them. Four friends against the rest of the world. Now there were boyfriends and girlfriends and other friends joining their little group. They rarely went on adventures these days. Knowing that they used to do that all the time and that it now seemed like they had to do away with such childish things felt like a profound loss. But with the outside world growing darker…

With a sigh, he made his way down the train, trying to find empty seats. Suddenly a door opened to his right and someone stepped into his path.

“Pettigrew.”

_Shit_, Peter thought. The lost boy. Funnily enough, that’s probably what his family would call Padfoot. If they cared. Peter took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and went to move past Regulus. Sirius had asked them to stay away from him and he was not about to break that promise.

But Regulus moved with him, blocking his way. “I see you’re alone.”

Peter stood his ground and said nothing. Even though his collar felt too tight and his hands were getting sweaty.

The younger Black brother smiled knowingly. For a second Peter wondered if he could smell fear.

“You should get used to that. Speaking about loyalty and actually being loyal? Two very different things. And at least one of your friends is good at running and leaving people. Are you certain you’re surrounding yourself with the right sort?”

Peter’s wand hand twitched. _Lies. All lies,_ he wanted to yell. _You’re bitter! Just trying to get a rise out of me!_ But there was doubt beginning to gnaw at the edges of his consciousness anyway. Almost imperceptible and yet it was there.

Regulus raised his eyebrows, waiting to see whether Peter would actually draw. When he witnessed Peter hesitate, he grinned. And the grin spoke loud and clear. _You’re not sure, are you? What a pity_, it said.

Peter froze as Regulus stepped around him with a final whisper. “Where are they now, I wonder? And will they always come back for you?”

Then he disappeared into a different compartment further down. Peter tried to shake off the ugly feeling of uncertainty but it seemed to stick to him as he continued his search for empty seats.

A few moments later his friends joined him on the train and his quest and together they were able to secure one of the last empty compartments. As they all sat down, laughing and smiling and joking, Peter laughed and smiled and joked with them.

But he still couldn’t quiet his mind and the doubt kept picking, picking, picking at him the whole ride back to London.


	29. i n j u r e d

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A different perspective.  
_____  
[James&Dorcas]

**twenty-nine:** i n j u r e d

“I’m sorry.”

James stopped torturing his eggs with his fork when Dorcas sat down next to him. He looked at her, perplexed. His heart was so heavy these days that his brain had almost given up on doing its job as well. There was a fog that occupied his mind that he couldn’t get rid of. “For what?”

Dorcas shrugged. She wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up. So she decided not to. “That you’re not feeling well.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” James answered. A little too fast and a little too cheery.

Dorcas nodded, helping herself to some porridge. They both knew James was lying but she didn’t want to pry.

“No, really,” James tried again, “I’m good! Nothing happened. I’m _fine_! Look, I’m not injured or anything!” He pulled his sleeves back a little as if to prove that his arms were unharmed.

Taking a deep breath, Dorcas put down her spoon and slowly pushed the bowl away. Then she turned to James.

“Listen,” she sighed. “I’m not good with feelings. And I don’t know you all that well, aside from what happens on the Quidditch pitch. And maybe it’s not my place to say anything. But I’ve got eyes. Something is very wrong here. You’re not eating or talking. I haven’t seen Remus in ages. Peter’s never said much but it’s become worse. And Sirius doesn’t even sit with you guys anymore. He goes everywhere alone now. I don’t know what happened and I don’t need to know to realize that it was bad. I can see that you’re not okay. And just so you know: people don’t need to be injured to be in pain. Heartbreak can hurt just as bad. _Easily_.” She looked across the hall, focusing on nothing and blinking really fast, clearly trying to not get her own feelings mixed up in this.

James opened his mouth, then closed it again. He didn’t know what to say. How to explain what was going on without disclosing too many details about what had happened.

Dorcas shook her head. “You don’t need to say anything. Just…take care of yourself. Do something you enjoy.”

James nodded as Dorcas turned back to her porridge. He hadn’t thought anybody cared. Or noticed, even. Anybody besides his little friend group, anyway. Immediately, his head felt a little clearer.

“Would you…do you want to go to the pitch later, play a quick game?”

Right after the words had come out of his mouth, panic overcame him. What if that was the wrong thing to say? What if she misunderstood? What if it didn’t sound like he was offering friendship but something else entirely?

But he shouldn’t have worried. Quidditch was a language that Dorcas understood very well.

“Sure. Sounds good”, Dorcas replied with a smile and gave him a thumbs up.


	30. c a t c h

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone's catching feelings...  
_____  
[Marlene&Lily]

**thirty:** c a t c h

They’d only gotten back from the pitch twenty minutes ago but the common room had already turned into a madhouse. As she watched the chaos unfold, Lily felt a need to tell her fellow students to be quiet and take house points from Gryffindor. But she reminded herself that that was merely her prefect side talking and that this party had actually been sanctioned by their Head of House. With a grin, she thought about how tough and strict the Transfiguration professor generally was and how fast all of that went out the window when McGonagall’s team won. She might be more obsessed with the sport than Potter was, Lily mused. _Speaking of Potter… _She let her gaze drift around the room, trying to make him out in the celebrating crowd.

A loud roar from the whole team grabbed everyone’s attention, including hers, and she was finally able to spot his messy black hair.

“Earth to Lils?” Marlene said in front of her suddenly, waving a Butterbeer bottle in her face.

“Yes?” Utter confusion was written across Lily’s face.

Marlene rolled her eyes. “Take it, will you?” she said, waving the bottle again for emphasis.

Lily took it but simply stared at it, baffled. Marlene laughed. “What is going on with you today? You need to open it!” She demonstrated exactly how to do that with her own bottle and Lily finally snapped out of it.

“Oh, uh, sorry. Just…daydreaming,” she stuttered. A faint, rosy tint was coloring her cheeks.

Marlene chuckled. “Uh-huh. _Sure_.”

They stood over by the windows, watching and enjoying the celebrations from one of the few spots in the common room that was relatively cool, especially after the fire had been going all day.

“You know,” Marlene said and took a sip of butterbeer before continuing, “I don’t know much about Quidditch but I have to say, that was an impressive catch.”

Lily hadn’t really been listening to a word Marlene had said. She’d been too busy watching a certain Chaser celebrate. The fact that she couldn’t tear her gaze away, that she couldn’t help herself but look was quite embarrassing, she thought.

“Hmm, quite the catch,” Lily replied, dreamily.

“Alright, what is _with_ you today? You’re acting weird-“ Puzzled and also a bit worried, Marlene tried to figure out who Lily was watching so intently that she wasn’t able to hold a conversation. And when she did, her jaw quite literally dropped.

“Ah. So you weren’t talking about Quidditch at all. Well, considering how much he’s changed, I guess he is _quite the catch_ nowadays,” she teased.

Lily looked up, confused once again. Then she realized that her friend was looking in Potter’s direction, just like she had been doing for most of the evening. And she also realized what Marlene had said.

“Uh…” _Very intelligent, Lily._

Marlene laughed. “Oooh. So it’s _that_ bad? Can’t even form sentences?”

“It’s weird,” Lily tried to explain. “I hated him. I did, I really did. Couldn’t stand him. And now…”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t,” Lily confirmed with a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. Just one more now.


	31. r i p e

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one. Let's go.  
_____  
[Marauders]

**thirty-one:** r i p e

“That was _amazing_!” Peter gasped wide-eyed as he stepped out from behind the mirror and into the corridor, closely followed by his friends.

“Yeah,” James breathed, just as excited.

They hadn’t expected the secret passageway to lead anywhere. After all, not all of them did. Some of them were dead ends, going nowhere but straight into a brick wall. When they’d discovered this one last week, they’d followed the path under the impression that they would turn back around a few minutes later and mark it as such. Especially because it was so big that it looked more like an unfinished meeting room than a secret path to…well, somewhere.

To their surprise, the path had led them quite far with no visible end in sight so, after several minutes of walking, they’d had to decide to come back for a more thorough exploration of the passageway and where it went.

They’d planned for a longer nightly adventure today and were rewarded for their perseverance with the realization that the path led them outside of the castle and into Hogsmeade.

“We need to write that down! Moony, do you have the parchment?” Sirius asked eagerly and turned around to Remus, who’d been the last to leave the passage and also the one to secure it.

Remus, however, looked a little less enthusiastic. “I’ll write it down if you’ll take a shower,” he said and wrinkled his nose.

“Hey!” Sirius huffed.

“Sorry but you really smell like dog. And not in a good way.” Remus shrugged, looking sheepish.

James and Peter jumped in, being able to smell it as well, now that they were all standing together.

“Oh. Yeah,” Peter said, waving his hand in front of his face, trying to get rid of the stench. “Remus is right. It’s bad, Pads.”

“Bloody ripe, mate,” James tacked on, echoing his friends’ sentiments and taking a step back.

Sirius looked betrayed. Miffed, he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Fine. Just have Peter do recon next time, see how you like smelling rat instead.”

“Probably better because I don’t jump into every puddle I come across. Unlike Padfoot. In Hogsmeade. _Tonight_,” Peter teased.

Sirius turned his head away, pouting.

“Come on, don’t be that way. We’re very thankful for your service, we truly are,” Remus said, trying to hold back a laugh and failing miserably.

“Yes, indeed, the rest of the Marauders could never repay you for your sacrifices,” James added with a dramatic combination of a bow and a curtsy.

Peter copied James’ gesture with a snicker.

The overly theatrical display was, as his friends knew very well, right up Sirius’ alley and he couldn’t help but smile. Rolling his eyes, he led them down the corridor. “Let’s go, we should try and avoid detention at least this one time.”

But as they rounded the corner, they knew tonight was not going to be that night when they came face to face with their Head of House.

“Gentlemen…,” Professor McGonagall began, exasperation already audible in her voice. Sighing deeply, she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why is it always you four?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are. 31 days of prompts done, just like that. Did I think I'd be able to do it? Absolutely not, no. Which is why your support means the world.  
Thank you so much for joining me on this wild ride. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Have a great day, everyone!


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